Prevalence of fibromyalgia in patients referring to Kerman rheumatology clinic from 1995 to 1998

fibromyalgia(FM), a chronic musculoskeletal syndrome,is charaterized by widespread pain and multiple tenderness in the body.clinical studies show a wide range of prevalence(1% to 20%). there is no published data about the prevalence of FM in Kerman.in this descriptive study demographic variables and the final clhnical diognosis of 8270 cases referring to Kerman rheumatology clinic from 1995 to 1992 were reviewed.these 1046 cases fullfilled ACR 1990 criteria for FM (12.46%).the mean age of FM cases was 39.6+_11.1 years(mean+_SD) and 75%of them were 30-60 years old.95.2% of cases were famale and the mean of disease duration was 4.2+_3.8 mounths(minimum and maximum were 30 and 50 mounths respectively).there is no statistically significant difference between male and famale in age and duration of disease.the correlation coefficient between age and duration of disease was 0.047 (p+0.13).fibromyalgia is a common diagnosis among among patients referred to clinics which needs more attention for correct diagnosis .information on age and sex distribution of FM cases might help physicians to treat rheumatic patients and women more percisely.